I finally settled on a new layout. Though it’s not exactly the one I wanted, it’s the only one that works for both Internet Explorer and Firefox, and it’s much better than the other flowery layouts available out there. BTW, Firefox is much better than Internet Explorer for WordPress layouts … much better.

I’m coming back from school on Thursday when I got a call from AnnMary, who’s baby shower I went to a couple of months back. She’s like, “Jose, guess what? I had the baby.” WHAT?! Best believe I dropped everything. Yes, ladies and gents, little Josiah was born on September 27th. Congrats to her and her family. I’m really pulling for the babe, and for the mom too, since this is her first child.

Last Friday, I read for an open mic at the Ba’hai Unity Center. I found out about the joint courtesy of Stephen Early Jordan II, who invited his MySpace friends to this event. I didn’t advertise it much, but it was definitely good. A few of my friends came to the Center, too, so I felt like a rock star. I performed “And We” (since they didn’t allow profanity, I tried to self-edit) and I really felt into it. After the performance, I really felt like I could go up to any mic and do any of my best pieces. It was a good feeling. Of course, other cats did their thing too, and overall I enjoyed the experience. To share your work and that work truly reflecting what you feel and not just some manufactured point-garnering piece is rewarding in and of itself.

The last post about fame really made me think a lot about what would I do if I was famous. I’ve been popular and infamous before in different capacities, but never famous. ::rubs goatee:: I’ll get back to y’all on that.

I know I made small mention of this before, but Across the Universe (the movie) was really good. It’s a musical movie based on Beatles music. For those that have never seen it, it’s about a young dock worker from Liverpool who comes to the States to find his father, but he ends up in a whirlwind of events, including falling in love with a new woman and traveling across the nation. There were appearances by Bono (who does a wonderful rendition along with the Edge of “I Am The Walrus”), Salma Hayek (pause, drool, wipe), Joe Cocker, Staceyann Chin, and Joan Osborne. Most of the movie took place on the Lower East Side, so the transformation they did on the place took me aback for real.

The music was for the most part very good, and I even shed a tear during one of the parts, and no it wasn’t anything romantic. The metaphor that really struck me, though, was how each character was a representation of a figure or an idea. Without spoiling the movie for you, I believe the main character, Jude (and all the characters are named after a Beatles’ song), was a metaphor for all of the Beatles. His love interest, Lucy, is a representation of the world around them, and their relationship took turns much the way the Beatles reacted to world issues.

I won’t spoil the rest of it, but if you did see it, maybe you can help me figure out the madness I observed. Overall, I’d give it an 8 out of 10. Worth the money, and I might get it on DVD.

jose, who’s got a million ideas already for this week of blogging …